The Giants’ first-round draft pick created a stir Sunday afternoon with his three-touchdown performance in the 52-27 victory against the Saints, one on a kickoff return and two rushing. What followed — back-flips in the end zone, one to celebrate each score — created another kind of a stir.

The concern from Wilson’s teammates and bosses is understandable, particularly with starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw’s status for Sunday’s game in Atlanta very much in question, after he suffered a sprained left knee against the Saints. Wilson may need to step in as the starter, and carry his largest rushing load of the season, and the Giants can’t afford a needless injury.

Wilson shrugged. He’s been flipping since he was a toddler growing up in southern Virginia, and he claims he’s never missed.

“It’s a possibility they can go wrong, but for me, I’ve been doing ’em since I was three years old,” Wilson said. “It’s like easy, it’s almost like running, for me to jump and turn backwards. I’ve been doing it for a while, so I think people can relax a little.”

This is what comes with Wilson’s newfound status as a key part of the Giants offense. In the 12 previous games, Wilson had only cause to flip once, late in a victory against the Browns. On Sunday, he did it three times. As Tuck extolled, “without him, we don’t win that game on Sunday, hands down.”

But Tuck added, “We have to try our best now to keep his head the same size it is right now.”

It’s part of what Wilson called a “dramatic change” from Week 1, when he was benched for fumbling. Just a few weeks ago, he was the third running back on the Giants roster. But Andre Brown broke his fibula, and now Bradshaw suffered the knee injury, on top of the bruised bone in his foot.

A sprained knee usually keeps players out for a few weeks, but coach Tom Coughlin refused to rule out Bradshaw for the Falcons game, because he’s a “tough son of a gun.” Bradshaw has played on broken bones in both feet in the past. After suffering the sprain in the first quarter Sunday, he told Coughlin he had “no limitations” and re-entered the game.

“I’m not going to rule him out of anything,” Coughlin said, though Bradshaw did not practice yesterday. “I’m not going to talk about the percentages or anything like that. You can speculate on that, knowing full well what the injury is.”

Coughlin said the decision will be made by the team’s medical staff, not Bradshaw, and we’ll “live by it.” In the meantime, they’ll prepare to get the most out of Wilson, and also some from newly added backs Kregg Lumpkin and Ryan Torain.

The composition of the run game wouldn’t “necessarily” change with Wilson as the lead back instead of Bradshaw, Coughlin said. Wilson’s best asset is speed, but Coughlin said he’s also a powerful runner with excellent leg strength, who can move the pile.

But Bradshaw has carried the ball as many as 30 times in a game this season. Wilson’s 13 carries against the Saints were the most he’s had. He said he’s primed for a larger load, and hopes to stay in his favored role as the kick returner, too. While doing so, he has high expectations to meet, not to mention a better educated opponent.

“Last week, the Saints probably weren’t expecting to even worry about me getting in the game,” Wilson said. “Now teams have film on me and they’ll be preparing, so we can see what it really is.”

As for whether or not he’ll keep doing those back-flips, Wilson grinned and said, “We’ll see.”

His fullback, Henry Hynoski, admitted the flips make him “nervous,” and receiver Victor Cruz, whose salsa dance is the Giants’ best-known touchdown celebration, said “it scares me every time he does it.”

Coughlin wouldn’t say if he’d institute a flip ban — “You’re not going to get me on that one,” he said — but Tuck was hard at work at making that happen. Wilson smiled and walked away when Tuck gave his order the first time, but Tuck promised they’d have another talk. The only Wilson flips he wants to see are the ones on YouTube.

Quarterback Eli Manning, however, was most concerned about the bottom line.